The Veil of Time
by Sehanine
Summary: When Sirius fell through the veil and into the past, he saw a chance to change Harry's future.


Written for Finals Round 1 of the QLFC

Team: Pride of Portree

Position: Seeker

* * *

Falling through the veil turned out to be the best thing Sirius had ever done.

The voices of his loved ones that had called to him through the mysterious portal had somehow pulled him back through the very fabric of time, back to the night everything went wrong.

He didn't understand how, or why, but he knew that he had been given a chance to put things right.

Sadly, he had not been pulled back quite far enough to save Lily and James. He appeared to be inhabiting his younger body on the night of their death, at the moment he arrived in Godric's Hollow.

His first decision was not an easy one to make. He still felt the burning hatred that had driven him to pursue Peter the first time round, but he knew that he must ignore it.

Rushing into the house, he apologised to James as he leapt over his fallen body and climbed the stairs two at a time. He felt tears prick his eyes as he saw Lily, sprawled on the floor of the nursery, where she had been killed trying to protect that which was most important to her.

A cry dragged his attention to the crib, where Harry was standing, his scar red raw where it had been branded onto his forehead by Voldemort's curse. The toddler lifted his arms to Sirius, a silent plea to be held and comforted. Sirius obliged immediately, turning Harry away from the sight of his mother.

Cradling his godson against his chest, Sirius fled from the house. He knew that if he could only get away before Hagrid arrived he would be able to save Harry from a lifetime of suffering at the hands of the Dursleys.

* * *

Contacting Remus had been simple enough. Although at this point in time they hadn't spoken in a few months, Remus couldn't possibly ignore a summons from the person he believed responsible for Lily and James' murder.

Sirius held Harry in front of him to stall Remus' attack long enough to explain the situation. Luckily, Remus was just as easy to convince now as he had been in the future, and more than willing to babysit Harry while Sirius reported to the Ministry. Dumbledore had, of course, mentioned to the Aurors that James had named Sirius secret keeper, and so he was obviously wanted for questioning.

Voluntary submitting to questioning under veritaserum quickly cleared Sirius' name, and implicated Peter in his place. The Ministry awarded Sirius full custody of Harry as his legal guardian according to James and Lily's wishes.

Peter never was caught, though. He also never found his way to the Weasley family. Sirius still wanted to find him, and punish him for his betrayal, but quickly found that raising Harry had become his number one priority.

* * *

As the years passed, Harry began to grow into the person Sirius had come to love in the future. Sirius had worried that perhaps removing him from his traumatic upbringing might cause his personality to change, but it seemed that Harry was simply a good person at heart.

Having knowledge about the wizarding world, and his role within it, could possibly change a few things, but Sirius truly believed that more preparation could only be a good thing.

* * *

When Harry left for Hogwarts, Sirius once more took up residence in the caves nearby, knowing full well the troubles that the castle had in store for his godson. He had considered informing Dumbledore of certain key events, like Voldemort's many attempts to return, but on the rare occasions they had spoken in the past decade, Dumbledore had been incredibly cold towards Sirius, even scolding him for taking Harry away that night. Frankly, Sirius was no longer certain that Dumbledore had Harry's best interests at heart.

* * *

Harry's first year played out almost identically to how it did originally, but the same could not be said for his second.

Sirius had, of course, informed Harry of Voldemort's real name, and Harry recognised it in the pages of the diary. Turning it in to Dumbledore had been a smart plan, and Sirius was glad that Hermione had talked Harry into it. Ginny was spared from further possession, and many students escaped the petrification that they had suffered with originally.

* * *

Harry's third year was surprisingly calm. Of course, this time round, there was no crazed mass-murderer wandering the halls of Hogwarts. Harry faced no worse problems than Quidditch and puberty. Sirius, for one, thought that he deserved a break, especially since he knew what was coming the following year. Unfortunately, Snape still outed Remus as a werewolf, even without a transformation to defend himself with, but Moony seemed perfectly content to return to Grimmauld Place with Sirius.

* * *

There was no way to prevent the tournament. Sirius tried. He petitioned the governors. He staked out Mad-Eye's house as Padfoot to try to catch Barty Crouch Jr sneaking in. He stormed into Dumbledore's office and yelled at him until he lost his voice. All to no avail.

Harry was once again chosen, and once again had to compete. Luckily, Sirius knew the tasks and knew how to advise Harry. When Harry wrote to him panicking about dragons, Sirius suggested outflying it. It worked perfectly the first time, of course. For the lake he suggested transfiguration, pointing out that Mcgonagall would probably be willing to point him in the direction of some useful books, and Hermione could teach him the spells. For the maze, Sirius simply told him that he had done so well thus far and should feel proud of himself, regardless of whether or not he won, in the hopes that Harry wouldn't push himself too hard and lose.

Of course, Harry won. Harry always won. Luckily, this time he had started further ahead of the competition, and Diggory was spared his original fate. Sirius waited in the stands for Harry to return, hoping and praying to every Deity he had ever heard of, that Harry would return safely. Thankfully, he did.

* * *

Not much changed in fifth year, other than Sirius made sure he didn't fall through the veil again. He'd relived part of his life, he'd avoided Azkaban, and he'd made sure Harry was happy. Frankly, that was enough for him.


End file.
